“Justin Cronin's incredible imagination takes the reader on a ride that is engrossing, thought-provoking, terrifying and above all, immensely entertaining. A diverse and engaging cast of characters dot the landscape in this sweeping novel that is both fantastical science fiction and heartbreaking drama. An absolutely thrilling read, The Passage is destined to reach a huge audience and leave everyone wanting more.”

* A sneak preview of The Twelve, coming in 2012 * A revealing interview with author Justin Cronin

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR BY TIMEMAGAZINE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Esquire • U.S. News & World Report • NPR’s On Point • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • BookPage • Library Journal

An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival,The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl—and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

About the Author

Born and raised in New England, Justin Cronin is a graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Awards for his fiction include the Stephen Crane Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. He is a professor of English at Rice University and lives with his wife and children in Houston, Texas.

The biggest book of summer so far is Justin Cronin's The Passage, a massive novel in which a band of people attempt to survive in a small colony surrounded on all sides by vampires. But these are not the sexy, debonair vampires of TV and Twilight. Justin Cronin's vampires are real monsters. Host Scott Simon speaks with author Justin Cronin about his motives for writing the book and the process that brought his characters to life. More at NPR.org

The summer sun may be shining, but vampires don't seem to be going anywhere. NPR's Margot Adler has read more than 100 vampire books this year, and gives a heads-up on two bloodsucking books expected to be summer blockbusters: Justin Cronin's Blood Oath and Christopher Farnsworth's The Passage.More at NPR.org

“Cronin has given us what could be the best book of the summer. Don’t wait to dive into The Passage.”—USA Today

“[A] blockbuster . . . astutely plotted and imaginative.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Justin Cronin has written a wild, headlong, sweeping extravaganza of a novel. The Passage is the literary equivalent of a unicorn: a bona fide thriller that is sharply written, deeply humane, ablaze with big ideas, and absolutely impossible to put down.” —Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad

“Cronin gets it just right; the combination of attentive realism and doomsday stakes makes for a mesmerizing experience.”—Salon

“We’ve just found our summer escape!”—Elle

“Read this book and the ordinary world disappears.”—Stephen King, author of Full Dark, No Stars